Sacrifice
by Shimmering-Sky
Summary: AU, in which Z-ONE doesn't stop Yusei from plunging into the Reactor on the Ark Cradle. This is how his death affects the other Signers, and his sister. Loose ties to my story Blue Sky.
1. 1: Tears From The Sky

***Repeatedly bangs head against the wall* Dang it, Professor Layton fandom. I recently read two fanfics, one titled "Ruin" by The Mocking J, and one titled "Grim Endings" by Vixin2. They ended up killing the main characters (and the Azran prism thing didn't bring them back)…**

**So, what do these two fanfics have anything to do with this one? They inspired it. Shade just **_**had**_** to relate it to Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds… and so this exists.**

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds (which is definitely a good thing), but I do own my OCs. **

_**Note: This does not totally follow the events of Blue Sky. Z-ONE is canon-Z-ONE, Yusei still Dueled Z-ONE, and Sky saved him when he fell (also revealing her she-has-wings secret to the world). Everything else follows the events of Blue Sky. Also, the names for each of these will be a play on the name or nicknames of characters.**_

**Sacrifice~Tears From the Sky**

…And with those last words, Z-ONE's body ceases function, and his eye drifts shut.

He did it. Yusei won. The crisis of Arc Cradle should be averted. But no. The future Satellite still descends on Neo Domino City, and the only way to stop it…

Something carrying positive rotating Ener-D must be slammed into the Reactor that this temple carries. It doesn't matter how much of it there is; even the smallest amount will do. So, if we were to turn a Duel Disk on and throw it in there, it would work.

The only problem is that the Crimson Dragon is the only thing powering positive Ener-D (aside from the Rune Eyes of those three guys on Team Ragnarok, according to Yusei, but they should still be recovering from getting Yusei and the others onto Arc Cradle). That means that a Signer _has_ to go with the Duel Disk. Has to plunge into the Reactor _with_ the Duel Disk… and there is no chance of survival for the one who does it.

The others don't know about this. Only Yusei and I do. I know my brother; he's going to do it if I don't. And he won't let me do it without a fight.

Yusei stands up and walks over to where he had left his Duel Runner. Instantly, I jump to my feet and dart over, grabbing him before he can get into the seat. "I won't let you do this, Yusei!" I say forcefully. "I can't lose you…"

"And I can't lose you _again_," Yusei retorts. "Would you prefer it if one of the others does it?"

I shake my head fervently. "No way. We're too close for us to lose anyone… you, most of all, Yusei. You're the glue that holds us together. If you do this, if you die…" Not only would I never be able to forgive myself, I'm sure the other Signers would shut down.

Akiza would definitely take it the worst. I know about her crush on my brother. If he dies, it would break her heart, and, and… A part deep inside of me thinks that she could possibly go back to being the Black Rose Witch…

And the others, equally hard. Jack and Crow have been best friends with Yusei since we were kids. Leo and Luna look up to Yusei like he's their older brother. Losing him…

"But you're the glue that holds _me_ together. I _have_ to do it, Sky," Yusei says with confidence. "The more time we waste arguing, the closer to complete doom the citizens of Neo Domino and Satellite get."

"But you don't understand, Yusei! Leo and Luna look up to you! You, Jack, and Crow are practically family! And Akiza…" I stop speaking, because I'd promised Akiza I would never explicitly tell Yusei she had feelings for him until she was ready.

A glazed look appears in his eyes. "I _do_ understand, Sky. You might not like my decision… but it's mine to make."

He moves towards his Duel Disk, and before I can react, he has his hand on one of the cards on it—_Stardust Dragon_. Something strong and scaley grabs me from behind, and I know what he's done. After all, I did it almost a year ago to Sydney, when she didn't want me to be the only one arrested by Sector Security… except this is under a much, much worse circumstance…

"No, Yusei! Don't do it! Be selfish for once in your life!"

"I'm sorry," he says, getting on the Runner. He looks at me, fresh tears in his eyes, and then looks up at his dragon. "Take her back to the others," Yusei orders.

The dragon obliges, and Yusei disappears from sight as I'm whisked away. Away from Arc Cradle. Away from my brother. "YUSEI!"

By the time _Stardust Dragon_ gets me to the others—on a hill that overlooks a section of the City—I'm almost a complete mess, my throat raw from all the screaming I did, my cheeks stained with tears. I'm at least somewhat functional, because I can hold my own weight once someone pulls me to my feet.

"What's going on?" Jack's yelling at me, but it feels so far away. "Where the hell is Yusei?"

I blink several times. "He…"

My right hand my back, and my head burst into pain so intense the massive migraines I got for almost two months after my fall of the cliff at Crash Town seems mild in comparison. And by mild, I mean like they feel like someone merely poked me.

My hand because of the newfound Mark of the Envoy and my back, the Seal of the Dragon. They hurt for the loss of a fellow Signer. My head because of a much more personal reason. The bond shared by Fudo siblings forcibly severed by death. And that makes the surviving sibling take in horrible pain.

But as I let the agonizing sensations pull me into unconsciousness, I don't care about that.

All that matters is that Arc Cradle has vanished… and my brother isn't coming back.

**XXX**

When I wake up in my own bed, in my own room, breathing oh-so-heavily, I think I just had the most horrible dream. What was it about, though? Why am I filled with so much dread and sorrow?

…Ah, that was it. I dreamed Yusei died to stop Ark Cradle. But that isn't what happened. He beat Z-ONE, and it disappeared. We stopped their plan.

I slide my blanket off of me, kicking my feet off of the side of my bed. I frown when I realize I'm still wearing my clothes from what must have been yesterday—I don't like sleeping in jeans. But I shrug it off, change into fresh clothes, and walk downstairs.

I'm met by silence.

Usually, Bruno is making breakfast with whatever he happens to have on hand, Yusei tinkers with one of the Duel Runners in the garage, and Jack and Crow are arguing about some random subject.

Everything hits me at once. Bruno was lost in Ark Cradle…

…And so was Yusei.

Not a dream. It wasn't a dream. Yusei really is gone…

My spine contracts, and I put one hand over my chest, gripping the staircase railing with the other. He can't… he _can't_ be dead… but he is…

"Sky," a voice says behind me.

Spinning around, I see it belongs to Crow. My friend's face is clearly stricken with grief, but his eye aren't puffy or red from tears. That might be because people have a limit to how long they can cry in one sitting, and I was asleep for at least the entire night. Possibly longer. I'm sure Crow stopped crying awhile ago, but that doesn't mean he isn't still hurting.

"Crow…" my voice is little more than a whisper.

A moment later, I find my head buried in his shoulder, crying my eyes out once again, one of Crow's hands patting the back of my head reassuredly. We stay like this for I don't know how long, until the doorbell rings, and Crow lets go of me. "I'll get it," he says.

So he does, and I can see that the person on the other side of the door has blue eyes and brown hair, styled with a bun in the back. She has an old-looking pink headband with cat-ears on it. My final note is her age. She looks like she's about fourteen.

"Uh, hi," the girl says. "Is this where Sky Fudo lives?"

"And you are…?" Crow asks.

"I'm Mia," she replies. "Is Sky here?"

"Yes," I say, nudging Crow to the side. "I am she."

"Oh, good!" She starts rummaging through her bag for something, muttering to herself about 'where did they go…?' Finally, she pulls out a stack of envelopes, and hands them to me. I look at the first, and my insides freeze.

It says my name… but it's in Yusei's handwriting. "What is…? Why do you have these?"

"Well, uhm…" Mia trails off, staring at the ground. "I'm a, uh, spirit medium… in training. I can't control when I contact the, er, dead yet. Sometimes I can't even control _who_ I contact. Anyways, I thought I fell asleep last night, but when I woke up, I was sitting at my desk with a bunch of these letters in envelopes surrounding me."

"Wait… spirit medium? Why would you…?" I gasp. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

She hands me a simple slip of paper, and I read it.

_Dear Mia Wright,_

_I thank you for channelling me to tie up several of the loose ends I left behind. I'm sure you've seen all the envelopes by now. Please do not open them; they are meant for whoever is named on each envelope. Instead, take them to my sister._ Our address is listed.

_If she doesn't believe me, show her this._

_Sky once faked her death by falling off a cliff. She "died" in my arms, giving me a necklace. Her necklace. If that fails to prove that this is real, then I can say that her last words were "Be brave, Yusei"._

_I thank you again for your assistance._

_Sincerely,_

_Yusei Fudo_

I read the note again. And again. And again. It's _his_ handwriting, mentioning an event that only the two of us knew… My last words when I faked my death…

I want to believe this note, and whatever I might find in the envelope marked with my name. But I also don't want to believe, because for all I know this Mia is lying…

In all seriousness, what _are_ the odds that this is fake? _No one_ else knew about how I told Yusei to be brave. _No one_. And I've talked to both of my parents along with a handful of others who are dead. What's to say this is any different?

"I… thank you, Mia," I say.

"You're welcome, I guess," she replies.

The voice of a young man comes from the street. It shouts, "Come on, sis! We have places to be!"

"Coming Phoenix!" Mia shouts back, turning on her heels. She looks at me one last time. "Oh… and I'm sorry for your loss." With that, she runs back to the car parked on the street.

My eyes fall back to the envelopes in my hand. There's one for me, Crow, Leo, Luna, Jack, and Akiza. I look at Crow, whose face is a mixture of disbelief and sorrow. I hand him the envelope with his name on it.

"You… believe that she's really a spirit medium?" Crow asks.

"Yeah, I do," I reply.

He half-closes his eyes, looking at his envelope.

"I'm going to get these to the others," I say, holding up the rest of the envelopes. "You have any idea where they are?"

"I think Luna's in the Spirit World," Crow replies. "No one has seen her for two days."

'_Two days? That means I was out for that long… dang,'_ I think.

"I'm pretty sure Leo and Akiza are at their respective homes," Crow continues. "Although, I have no idea where Jack is aside from the general direction of Satellite. Rally might know something."

"Rally?" I ask. I remember him, he was one of Yusei's friends in Satellite, and one of the four that helped bring back his Duel Runner after the first Shadow Turbo Duel with Kalin. But how does he know Jack? "Why would he know where Jack is?"

"It's complicated," Crow replies. "But I'm sure that he'll be able to tell you where Jack is if you find him."

"Alright…"

**XXX**

I find Luna in the Spirit World, surrounded by her Duel Spirits… and Yusei's, as well. I can't bear to look at _Stardust Dragon_, so I keep my gaze on Luna and hand her one of the envelopes.

I find Leo at his and Luna's apartment, desperately trying to talk to a Duel Spirit to see where his sister is. Of course he doesn't have the ability to see or hear them, so it's more or less pointless… I tell him that Luna is fine, and give him his envelope.

I find Akiza in her room, entirely unresponsive. She just sits in a chair beside her window, staring outside of it. Apparently her parents can't even get through to her. I try to tell her things to see if I can get a response, but I don't. Eventually, I give up trying to make her respond, and leave the envelope on the windowsill in front of her.

Last but not least, I find Jack in a dilapidated theatre in Satellite. Rally told me he liked to go there to think or something, and what better time to go off and think than now? I note several fist-shaped holes near the entrance, and also the fact that Jack seems to have injured one of his hands… I give him his letter, tell him it's the real deal, and leave.

It's time for me to read my letter.

**XXX**

_Dear Sky,_

_I'm sorry. I can say it a thousand, no, a trillion times and it still won't show how much I regret causing you and the others so much pain. I _was_ being selfish, you know, when I did it. Those were your last words to me, weren't they? "Be selfish for once"?_

_When you faked your death all those years ago, I took it hard. I couldn't sleep, I barely ate, I just couldn't function. Kalin's death made it worse. If Martha, Jack, and Crow hadn't knocked sense back into me, I probably would have died._

_I was scared that I would go through that again._

_As I'm writing this, I don't know how you're reacting to my death. Are you internalizing it, like you did with our parents' deaths? Or have you shut the world out, like I did when I thought you had died? I hope you've done the former, because I don't want you suffering like that._

_Don't wallow in the loss. I want you to move on. Find someone to love. Get married. Have kids. Just because I'm gone doesn't mean that your life has to end now. I don't know how long you'll live on Earth, but trust me, I can wait until we are reunited. Mother and Father can as well._

_Until we meet again._

_Your brother,_

_Yusei_

**~Tears From the Sky~**

**This is only the beginning… for there is more to come. It won't be in my comfort zone—I'm having there be a chapter per Signer, to see how they feel about this… And then I might add one at the end where the reactions to their individual letters come into play. Just because.**

**Goodness, it'll be hard keeping them in character.**

**Uhm… please review? Even if it's you saying you absolutely hate me for killing Yusei? I just want to know how people feel about this.**

**Also, I may or may not have included a head canon of mine. And an OTP from a series completely unrelated to Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds. I really don't care if you spotted that, but hey! Mia's back!**


	2. 2: A Crow's Clipped Wings

**Alright, I think I've set my mind on this story getting monthly(ish) updates. Here comes the first time I've ever really attempted a first person POV from someone who isn't an OC of mine… So, if I screw over his character, I'm really, really sorry. I've tried my best, but sometimes my best is pathetic.**

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds, but I do own my OCs. **

**Sacrifice~A Crow's Clipped Wings**

I throw an arm up into the air, shouting, "You did it, Yusei!"

Everyone else has their own form of celebration, but we're all thinking the same thing: Yusei saved all of us. He used out dragons to force that _Ultimate Temporal Machine God Sephiron_ to battle, and it worked! Yusei beat Z-ONE!

The Ark Cradle's light starts turning off and stops descending, but it doesn't disappear. It just… starts to fall apart. "Oh, shit!" I exclaim. "We need to get out of here!"

The Crimson Dragon ends up saving us, because the part of Ark Cradle we were on falls before we can get to our Duel Runners. It teleports us to a hill, and man am I glad that happened. I don't think that dying would be great, right after Yusei saved all of us.

Heh, I can't give Yusei all the credit. I mean, if Sky hadn't caught him—definitely going to ask about the wings when they get here—then this wouldn't have been possible.

Actually, why is it that they aren't here? Wouldn't the Crimson Dragon have brought them back as well? "They… they're still inside!" I shout.

Sherry makes a comment about Yusei's future of death not changing, but that can't be it. Not if Sky is there. She wouldn't let anything happen to him.

"Ah! Look there!" Akiza shouts, pointing at something moving towards us from the giant upside-down city.

I can't make it out at first, but then I can tell that the thing coming for us is… _Stardust Dragon_? Why wouldn't Yusei just fly his Duel Runner back down? Why would… wait, is that Sky? Yusei's dragon is carrying Sky, and it looks like she's trying to get out of the dragon's grip.

Okay, now I want to know what the hell is going on.

The silver dragon places Sky on the ground, and the golden-haired woman just collapses to her knees. I pull her up, and go to ask her the question we all want to know, but the fact that her cheeks are stained with tears makes me hesitate.

So Jack beats me to the punch.

Sky blinks a few times. "He…" she turns to look at Ark Cradle.

At that exact moment, my Mark bursts into pain like I've never felt before. _Worse_ than anything I've ever felt before—which is definitely saying something because I've been through _quite_ a few extremely bad injuries.

And then, just like that, my arm stops glowing and the pain just lingers for a few moments. But then even that fades away.

Sky screams in agony, and then collapses. I barely manage to catch her before she hits the ground.

What just happened…? My attention turns to Ark Cradle, which is slowly disappearing. I have my answer. Before I can even think about it, I'm shouting, "Stop! Yusei's still inside!"

My words must mean nothing, because it continues turning into sparkles… before totally vanishing from existence.

Time seems to stop. Yusei just… Yusei just…!

**XXX**

None of us understand _why_. Yusei had everything to live for, and yet… why would he stay on the Ark Cradle? WHY WOULD HE COMMIT SUICIDE LIKE THAT?! But the only one who knows any sort of answers is Sky, and she's still unconscious—has been for two days. She's the luckiest of us, being able to sleep peacefully.

Man, Yus'… You've really left a hole in all of us. A gigantic… gaping… hole…

I shrug the blanket off of me. I was _trying_ to sleep, but failed… the entire night. It'd be time to get up on a normal day.

Normal. What I wouldn't _give_ to see a day like that again.

Today, however, I can't go down the staircase. Sky is awake, and she's blocking the stairs—gripping the railing as hard as she possibly can with one hand and I think she's on the verge of hyperventilating.

I want to say something to her. Anything, really. But the only thing I can manage to get out is her name.

She turns around, fresh tears in her eyes, and whispers my name in response.

Scratch my earlier thought. Sky's the _unluckiest_ of us. I might think—have thought—of Yusei as a brother, but Yusei _was_ her brother. He was her only immediate family member left alive.

And so I find myself reassuredly patting the back of her head as she sobs into my shoulder. The whole time, I'm fighting to keep myself from crying—I've done more than enough of it in the past few days.

Then the doorbell rings. Sky really isn't in the best condition to get it, so I say I will, wipe whatever tears had welled up in my eyes away, and open the door. There's a girl outside… maybe fourteen or something? She's wearing a purple kimono thing, and has the oldest-looking headband I've ever seen sitting on the top of her head.

Her blue eyes meet my grey ones. "Uh, hi," she says. "Is this where Sky Fudo lives?"

That isn't really common knowledge, despite her pseudo-fame because of the WRGP. Why would this girl know where Sky lives? I don't recognize her at all. "And you are…?" I ask in response.

"I'm Mia," she replies. Then, as though I answered her first question, she adds, "Is Sky here?"

I'm about to come up with a response to make this girl go away, but Sky pushes me to the side and says, "Yes. I am she."

The girl's face brightens. "Oh, good!" There's a pause as she rummages through her bag. She ends up pulling out a stack of envelopes, and hands them to Sky. When my friend looks at the first one, she takes a quick breath, and her eyes widen. "What is…? Why do you have these?"

I peak at the envelope, to see why it shocked Sky. Now I see why. Her name is on the front of it, but that's not what shocked her. It's the fact that the name is written in Yusei's handwriting.

"Well, uhm…" Mia stares at the ground. "I'm a, uh, spirit medium… in training. I can't control when I contact the, er, dead yet. Sometimes I can't even control _who_ I contact. Anyways, I thought I fell asleep last night, but when I woke up, I was sitting at my desk with a bunch of these letters in envelopes surrounding me."

Of course. A spirit medium. This is why nothing is _ever_ normal around us.

Sky wants to know how we can tell if she's telling the truth, and Mia hands over another piece of paper. Sky doesn't show it to me, but it looks like she reads it a few times, before looking at Mia. She thanks the young girl, and some guy calls Mia away.

I'm guessing that means Sky believes Mia's story. But I definitely don't.

Sky looks at the envelopes for a moment, before closing the door. She hands me one of the envelopes—it has my name on it in Yusei's handwriting. Just like Sky's. "You… really believe she's a spirit medium?" I ask.

"Yeah, I do," she replies.

I narrow my eyes at the envelope. If Sky thinks it's true…

"I'm going to get these to the others," Sky announces, holding up the other envelopes. "You have any idea where they are?"

Akiza's been cooped up in her room ever since it happened. Luna… hasn't been seen, making me suspect she went to the Spirit World. Leo should be at home, since he doesn't really have anywhere else to be at the moment, and Jack… is somewhere in Satellite. I tell all of that to Sky.

When she leaves, I look at the envelope. Should I read it? What if it's a load of bullshit?

But Sky believes it's true… so I should give it a chance.

**XXX**

_Dear Crow,_

_I'm sorry I didn't have time for an actual goodbye. _

_As I'm writing this, I know that you think I pointlessly committed suicide by staying behind on the Ark Cradle. All of you except Sky would, because you don't know the full story._

_Ark Cradle was never going to vanish just as soon as Z-ONE was defeated in a Duel. Positive-rotating Ener-D had to be slammed into the negative-spinning Reactor it held to make it go back to its own time. There was no time to tell the rest of you about that. It was either me or Sky who would do it… and I chose for her._

_Please, make sure Sky doesn't go through what I did after we all thought she died. …Actually, I never _did_ thank you for that, did I? I can't remember if I did. So… thank you. And I… hope you will do the same for my sister, if it gets to that point._

_Make sure she doesn't blame herself for this, either. It's no one's fault but my own. _I_ chose to force her off the temple. _I_ chose to be the sacrifice that would save millions. I know you or the others would have taken my place in a heartbeat, but I wouldn't be able to live with that._

_Thank you, again, for everything. I hope this works as a goodbye, albeit one-sided._

_Until we meet again. _

_Your friend,_

_Yusei_

**~A Crow's Clipped Wings~**

…**Hmm, I'm actually satisfied by how that went about. Sure, I'm not really including the dialogue of all the characters, but that's because I'm focusing on the one the chapter is about, not the others. Once all the chapters are through, you'll be able to see the whole picture.**

**So, between Leo, Luna, and Jack, which one would you like to see next? I've already set my mind on Akiza's being last, which is why she isn't an option for the next chapter. I would really like to know who you want to see, because it's easier to know who I want to do and then think of that chapter than thinking of all three of them at the same time.**

**Please, leave a review! I'd like to know how I did!**

_**Note: To any Blue Sky fans reading this, expect the upload of its sequel, Midnight Sun, to be on Sunday.**_


	3. 3: Wrath of the Fallen King

…**Okay, it's been a little bit longer than a month. Sorry, it's because I had to fight my brother for the computer and then kept getting distracted. Also because I went to camp for a week.**

**Anyways, I'm going to get the chapter started soon. Just… don't kill me if I make Jack OOC.**

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds, but I do own my OCs.**

**Sacrifice~Wrath of the Fallen King**

I knew he could do it. Anyone who can defeat me would have been able to pull that off. …And he even needed _my_ help to do it.

Strange. Shouldn't Ark Cradle have disappeared by now? It's already stopped descending. That means it should disappear… any second now… but it's not. It looks like gravity kicks in, and the buildings attached to it start plummeting down on Neo Domino. We all start running for our Duel Runners, but it's obvious we aren't going to make it in time.

That is, until the Crimson Dragon saved us. While I don't like needing anyone's help… I'm glad we're safe. On a hill… somewhere that gives us a clear view of the Ark Cradle.

Without Yusei or Sky.

Crow remarks that they're still inside, and Sherry—she thinks that Yusei is still on the path to his death.

"No! We beat Z-ONE and changed that future!" I shout. "Besides, Sky would _never_ let something happen to him!"

"Ah! Look there!" Akiza shouts.

We all follow the direction she's pointing. Something is moving towards us from the Ark Cradle. It can't be Yusei's Duel Runner, though. It would be glowing red. This thing isn't glowing, and it looks like it's struggling to fly. Like it's carrying something that doesn't want to be carried.

…Wait a second, is that _Stardust Dragon_? Carrying Sky? Who is screaming at the top of her lungs and trying to get out of the dragon's grasp? _Without_ Yusei?

I, Jack Atlas, am not normally confused. But right now, I am.

Because that _is_ Yusei's dragon, carrying an unwilling Sky—who is not only screaming but also crying—and without Yusei.

It's clear that _Stardust Dragon_ tries to put Sky down gently, but my friend still just collapses.

We stand there, frozen, until Crow pulls her to her feet. That snaps me back into attention, and I shout, "What's going on? Where the hell is Yusei?"

"He…" Sky starts to say.

She gets cut off by all of our Marks bursting into pain. "Ngh…!" I grunt, grabbing at my right arm. I look at it, and everything gets even more complicated, because it's glowing a dark crimson, almost black. It hasn't done this before. And it _hurts_.

It stops just as soon as it started. The end of it signified by Sky screaming bloody murder and then falling.

Something draws my attention to Ark Cradle, which is just now starting to disappear.

But… but Yusei is still on there…! "I won't let Yusei die! Like… like _hell_ I will…! Stop disappearing!"

It doesn't listen to me. Of course, since it's an inanimate object. But… it should still…

Ark Cradle completely vanishes from existence.

**XXX**

Dead. Yusei is dead. I never expected to hear those two words in the same sentence, unless _is not_ was between them. _Yusei killed himself_. A sentence that shouldn't exist, and yet it does, because he stayed behind on Ark Cradle.

Some kid darts out of an alley while chasing a ball, and I have to slam the brakes harder than I ever have before. The kid looks up at me, clutching his ball tightly, and whimpering. I glare at him. "Scram, kid. Not everyone will be kind enough to stop."

"O-Okay!" he squeaks, running back into the alley he came out of.

"Tch. Stupid kid." I look back at the road, and I'm almost about to start going again when I realize where I am.

The old theatre I used to sit inside for hours on end.

No one will bother me in there.

**XXX**

As soon as I enter the building, I let out everything I'd been keeping inside since we figured out Yusei was dead. I spin around, and plant my fist in the wall. I don't care about the damage I'm causing to the building or myself.

I just need to get rid of all the anger I have inside.

It's mostly anger at Yusei. He had _everything_ to live for. Family. Friends. He'd just saved Neo Domino and Satellite. _He_ could have had the girl he wanted, unlike me. _Everything_. And he just up and throws it away, leaving the rest of us to deal with it. He didn't even _say_ anything to us. …Well, maybe he said something to Sky, but she's been out cold for two days.

But… the _real_ cause of my anger isn't Yusei. It's something that I really don't want to admit.

I haven't cried at all since he died. My eyes haven't even started to so much as water.

There's absolutely no reason I _shouldn't_ be crying. I just lost my rival, my best friend, my fucking _brother_. So then… why? Especially when I cried after I beat Carly, and I thought she died. I'd only known her for, what, a month? And I've known Yusei almost my whole life, and haven't cried over his death…

"Dammit… D-Dammit all!"

_Crack._

Great. I think I just broke my hand. I look at it—bloody, bruised, and when I try to move any of my fingers, it sends a powerful jolt of pain up my arm.

Definitely broken.

But I still have so much _fury_ to let out.

"Why did this happen?!" I scream at the ceiling. "Yusei! You better damn well hear this… wherever you are! You! Are! A! Fucking! Idiot!"

I don't know how long I stand there, shouting at the sky. All I know is that I end up sitting down on that crummy old throne, out of breath, with a sore throat, and cradling my broken hand. Thinking.

**XXX**

The sound of someone scuffling around the entrance pulls me back into reality. I sit up, blinking several times, until my vision focuses on the soul who dared to enter this place… Sky.

Impossible. She doesn't know of this place! No one else knows I come here, except… Rally. That, and the fact that Sky's been unconscious for two days…

"I see you got in a fight with something," Sky says, eyeing my hand.

"Hmph." I shift my weight, hiding my injured hand underneath my other arm.

She purses her lips, and then continues to walk towards me, looking around the theatre as she does so. "Quite a nice haunt you've got yourself. Fitting, too, with that throne you're sitting on."

"I'm no king," I snap. "Yusei was. He took that title from me… and now I can't get it back."

Sky stops, and looks down. Then she shakes her head. "Here, this is yours."

An envelope… with my name on it… written in Yusei's handwriting…? "What is this?"

"A spirit medium gave that to me," Sky says.

"One of those people who claim to be able to talk to the dead? Hah! As if."

"It's real, Jack," Sky says. "Trust me, it's real."

I look at the envelope, and then look at my friend. She looks entirely serious. I look back at the envelope. "Fine."

Sky turns around, and walks away. She stops by the entrance, and calls over her shoulder, "Oh, and Jack? Make sure you get that hand looked at when you're done."

"Hmph."

When she leaves, I stare at my name. It definitely looks like Yusei wrote this. If he _did_… I can't think of when he could have before… before Ark Cradle.

Fine. I'll read the damn thing.

**XXX**

_Dear Jack,_

_I'm sorry I didn't have time for an actual goodbye._

_As I'm writing this, I know that you think I pointlessly committed suicide by staying behind on the Ark Cradle. All of you except Sky would, because you don't know the full story._

_Ark Cradle was never going to vanish just as soon as Z-ONE was defeated in a Duel. Positive-rotating Ener-D had to be slammed into the negative-spinning Reactor it held to make it go back to its own time. There was no time to tell the rest of you about that. It was either me or Sky who would do it… and I chose for her._

_Jack, I don't know if this is what you want to hear, but I'm giving up all claim to the title King of Turbo Duels. I never wanted to be it in the first place, remember? It's your title now, if you want it. Sorry you couldn't win it back in a Duel, like you wanted._

…_Could you also keep an eye out on Sky? I don't want her to suffer like I did. Just make sure she doesn't shut out the world._

_Thank you for everything._

_Until we meet again._

_Your friend and eternal rival,_

_Yusei_

_PS: Don't keep shutting people out, like that reporter Carly._

**~Wrath of the Fallen King~**

**I think I like how this turned out. Although I probably wrote Jack all wrong… oh well, if I did.**

**Alright, I know some of you might want me to do the twins in the same chapter, but I don't really want to (it would be a lot longer than the other chapters). So… which of them would you like to see next, and how did you guys like this chapter? Please, leave a review!**

**Also, if you like this story and want to read something that's like it (but doesn't **_**actually**_ **kill Yusei as of yet), check out a story titled "Don't", by StardustRose22. It's awesome and deserves way more views than what it has. Bye for now!**


	4. 4: The Broken Toy Soldier

**I'm so sorry guys, band camp made me really busy and… Leo's surprisingly hard to write. It's been over a month again… Oops. Well, you're getting an update. Regardless of how exhausted I am…**

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds. Here's Leo's chapter! (I apologize ahead of time if he's OOC.)**

*****Still doing the song thing I started in Midnight Sun. So, this chapter is brought to you by… **_**Run Away (Remastered) **_**from **_**Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team/Red Rescue Team**_ **(the remastered version is by TheGuitahHeroe; it just sounds more like real instruments than the original)*****

**Sacrifice~The Broken Toy Soldier**

"Haha! Alright, he did it!" I shout, punching the sky. "I _knew_ he could!"

I just _knew_ Yusei could win the battle against Z-ONE. There's no _way_ he would have lost.

Luna gasps, and I look at her, ready to ask what's wrong, when the ground starts to shake. Oh… yeah… Ark Cradle isn't going away, it's falling apart. …! And we're on it! Oh crap!

We all start running away, but we aren't going to make it back to the Duel Runners—er, Duel Boards in mine and Luna's case. When the ground falls out from underneath us, I can't help but scream, and—

My Mark glows, and there's a bright flash of light, coupled with a dragon's roar. Not just any dragon—the Crimson Dragon.

I blink a few times. We're all standing at some sort of lookout, right on the outskirts of Neo Domino. Meaning we aren't falling to our doom, and the Crimson Dragon saved us.

Coooool…

But wait… why aren't Yusei or Sky here?

"They… they're still inside!" Crow shouts.

Still inside…? No way! They _can't _still be inside, if it's falling apart!

And then Akiza points at something flying towards us. I look up, hoping it's my friends.

It's… Sky… being carried by _Stardust Dragon_. And it looks like she doesn't like this at all. She's screaming like someone in a horror movie, and when she gets close enough, I can see she's in tears.

When Yusei's dragon puts her down next to us, Sky crumples to the ground. I look at _Stardust _again, but there's no Yusei.

"What's going on? Where the hell is Yusei?" Jack demands after Crow pulls Sky back to her feet.

"He…"

"YEEEOW!" I scream as my Mark lights up. It's not the normal glowing either, 'cause it's really dark and hurts sooooo much. Like, worse than the time I broke my arm when I fell out of that tree…

And just like that, it stops. The same time Sky lets out a scream and collapses.

"Uh…" I stare at my Mark for a second, and then look at Luna. "Sis, what was that? I mean, I know it wasn't normal, but—"

"It… it means…" she stops talking, because tears are already welling up in her eyes.

Now I'm not only confused, but really worried. I don't like seeing Luna cry, and since she _is_… could that mean…?

"No…" I say, barely a whisper as I watch the Ark Cradle, the place where _Yusei still is_ disappear into thin air. "No, that can't…!"

I know why my Mark lit up like that, and why Luna's crying.

Yusei's dead.

My vision runs blurry with tears, but I can still tell that it's Luna who collapses into my arms. I hold her tight, but don't say anything.

What _can_ I say, when our best friend and hero just died…?

**XXX**

Two days later, I find myself plopping down on the couch in my apartment, rubbing my eyes. I haven't slept much at all. Not just because Yusei's dead, but also because… because…

Yesterday, Luna vanished.

I can't find her _anywhere_, and I've looked… well, _everywhere_ that I can.

That means she has to be in the Spirit World, but I can't go there… I can't see if she's alright. And I sure as heck can't _ask_ someone if she's okay, since Sky's still unconscious and I don't have any powers…

…

Unless I do…? I mean, I'm a Signer now! Maybe I got some powers, like Luna or Akiza!

I whip out my Deck faster than I ever have before, and I pull out _Power Tool Dragon_.

So, what should I say…?

"Um… hey _Power Tool_! I just… I just want to know if I can talk to you now… and if Luna's alright. I _really_ want to know if she's okay…"

No one answers.

I grip my card tighter. "C'mon buddy, please! You don't even have to say anything, just give me a sign! Is Luna okay?"

"She's alright," a voice says from behind me, making me jump three feet into the air in surprise.

I turn around. It's Sky, her eyes a little bit red, with a couple of envelopes in one hand. "Geez, why don't you just scream next time?" I mutter. Then I shake my head. "Uh, sorry. What did you say?"

"Luna's okay," she replies. "I talked to her a little while ago."

I heave out a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear. Uh…" I rub the back of my head. "She's in the Spirit World, right?"

Sky slowly nods, a flicker of sadness crossing her face. "Yeah…"

I look down. I bet I know why she's sad about that, and I don't want to acknowledge it. Yusei…

"Here, this is yours," she says, jerking me out of my thoughts.

"Huh?" I stare at what she's trying to give me—an envelope with me name on it. I take it, and realize that it's in Yusei's handwriting. "What… why…?"

"You've heard of spirit mediums, haven't you?" Sky asks.

Of course I have. Some of the characters in games I play are spirit mediums, and there's always the odd commercial for psychic mumbo jumbo. "Yeah… in _fiction_, not real life."

"Not all of them are fake," she says, looking away from me. "A girl came to visit me, and gave me these. They're real. All of them." She turns around, but not before I see a tear slide down her cheek. "I think they're Yusei's way of saying goodbye because he couldn't…"

"…Why? Why couldn't he?" I ask.

"The letter… should tell you," she says. "Read it."

With that, she leaves, and I'm alone in my apartment again.

_The letter should tell me_… Hmm…

I guess that gives me no choice but to read it.

**XXX**

_Dear Leo,_

_I'm sorry I didn't have time for an actual goodbye._

_As I'm writing this, I know that you're wondering why I'm dead. There's a reason for that._

_Ark Cradle was never going to vanish just as soon as Z-ONE was defeated in a Duel. Positive-rotating Ener-D had to be slammed into the negative-spinning Reactor it held to make it go back to its own time. There was no time to tell the rest of you about that. It was either me or Sky who would do it… and I chose for her._

_Leo… I know you and Luna both look up to me like an older brother… like a hero. Well, now it's your turn to be the hero. I know you have it in you. Always look out for everyone, not just your sister. Never give up in the face of defeat._

_Keep chasing your dreams, Leo. You'll catch them; of that I'm certain._

_Thank you for everything._

_Until we meet again._

_Your friend,_

_Yusei  
_

**~The Broken Toy Soldier~**

**Okay, this might've ended up shorter than the others, but like I said earlier, I find Leo really hard to write. I seriously hope you guys liked it anyways, and I'll get to work on Luna's chapter right away!**

**Please, leave a review!**


	5. 5: A Fairy's Silent Cries

**Yay me! I'm updating this in less than a month! …Honestly, you have Ulrich362 to thank for that, because I'd completely forgotten about working on this story… and then they asked me how it was doing…**

**Anyways. Luna's chapter. As always, I'm sorry if she's out of character. Also as always, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds.**

**…Oh! And I'm starting this chapter at a different place than the others. So you aren't getting the exact same beginning for the fifth… no, technically fourth time.**

*****This chapter is brought to you by _Reminiscing ~ Fated Magic_ (or _Recollection/Reminiscence ~ Bewitched Fate_, if you prefer the direct translation) from _Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney_*****

**Sacrifice~A Fairy's Silent Cries**

_I still don't know why this all happened. We'd won. We'd saved the future._

_So then why did Yusei have to die?_

_Why did he have to leave me with the pain of comforting his Duel Spirits, when I can't even cope with my own loss?_

I'm not kidding. Even though I don't think Yusei could see them, all of his cards loved him. None more so that Stardust Dragon, because of their bond as Dragon and Signer.

It hurts to even look at the silver dragon, with his purple gems. Though he isn't half as bright as he used to be, all I can think of when I look at him is Yusei. To make matters worse, Stardust sounds so much like him…

"Why did you have to go, Yusei?" I whisper.

"He did it for all of you."

That voice makes me jump, and even makes my heart leap even though I know it's only Stardust Dragon.

"For… all of us?" I ask.

The dragon nods, his eyes filled with sorrow. "When Z-ONE lost, he told my master and his sister that the only way to stop Ark Cradle from falling was to plunge something with positive-rotating Ener-D into its Reactor…"

"That doesn't mean… ah!" I gasp. "The only things with positive Ener-D were our Duel Disks, because our Marks were powering them…"

I know Yusei and Sky. They wouldn't have wanted us involved, if one of us had to die in order to stop the destruction of Neo Domino. And judging by the fact that Stardust was carrying Sky to where we were—against her will—Yusei must have chosen for the both of them.

Selfless even to the end…

I start crying for the thousandth time. "I… I think I… understand now…"

"Yes… my master… would do everything in his power to keep his friends safe…"

"Just like you, Stardust," a new, but familiar voice, says.

I spin around at the same time that Yusei's dragon does. Ancient Fairy Dragon is floating near us, a grim look on her face.

I've never seen her like that before.

"So… it isn't possible…" Stardust says.

Ancient Fairy shakes her head. "No, I'm afraid not."

I look between the two dragons. "What's not possible?"

"We were trying to see if it would be possible to bring Yusei back from the dead, just like Leo," the butterfly-like dragon I call my friend replies. "Unfortunately, because Yusei had already unlocked his abilities, it just isn't in the Crimson Dragon's powers to do so."

"Oh." My heart falls, and I look down at the ground. He really is gone… I just can't accept it…

When I look up, I see someone else other than Duel Spirits approaching me. It's Sky, her eyes still red and puffy—clearly she was crying recently. Her eyes dart to Stardust Dragon, hovering besides me, but she quickly looks away, looking at me instead. She has something in her hands.

"Sky…"

"Luna." Her mismatched eyes, and her voice, show me that she really _is_ grieving on the inside. "Here… this is yours."

She hands me an envelope, with my name on it. My heart stops. It's in Yusei's handwriting. "What…?"

"A spirit medium came to the apartment about ten minutes ago, and gave me these," Sky replies. "There's one for all of us… and that one's yours."

"So… so you mean…?"

Sky nods. "Yusei definitely wrote these, while that spirit medium was channeling him. I… I can definitely say they're real."

Looking at the envelope, I can hardly think of another explanation for them. "Yeah… it looks like it…"

None of us say anything for a few moments. Only the breeze made any sort of noise, ruffling the leaves of the nearby trees. Then, Sky says, "I have to get the rest of these to the others. Luna... " she pauses, thinking of what to say. "Don't stay here too long. Leo's worried about you."

I close my eyes, hugging the letter close. "I know. I… I'll go back soon."

"Good."

When I open my eyes, she's gone.

I slowly tear open the envelope, and pull out not only a letter, but several cards as well. "Sonic Chick… Junk Synchron… Qu-Quillbolt Hedgehog… Effect Veiler… and Junk… Junk Warrior… But why…?"

**XXX**

_Dear Luna,_

_I'm sorry I didn't have time for an actual goodbye._

_However, I'm sure you know why I didn't have the time to do so. That I needed to stop Ark Cradle, and would never let any of you do it._

_I'm certain you've already found the five cards I've put in the envelope along with this letter. That wasn't a mistake. They're yours now. After all, they need to be able to watch over someone else now. I'm sure they'll fit right in with your monsters._

_Luna… don't let my death keep you down. Always strive for the future; the future all of us fought for._

_I'll always be with you—all of you—in spirit._

_Until we meet again._

_Your friend,_

_Yusei_

**~A Fairy's Silent Cries~**

**Myeh, why can't I seem to write a decently-sized chapter for this story? …Well, I suppose it's because I don't really have Luna or Leo's characters down.**

**Akiza, on the other hand… Oh, I cannot _wait_ until I write the next chapter…**

**Review, please! They'll make me write more, faster!**


	6. 6: The Wilted Black Rose

**So. Akiza's chapter. The one my muses have been waiting to do since I started—no, since before—I started writing this story.**

**It's not pretty. Not at all. And the beginning might seem to have nothing to do with the plot, but it's the only way I could fully… flesh out the bond between Akiza and Yusei. So it is relevant. Extremely relevant.**

**Also, I basically screwed over my own canon. The Sky-giving-Akiza-her-letter scene needed more depth than Akiza not responding.**

**Well, I'm rambling now. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds, but I do own my OCs. Enjoy!**

**Oh, and if you haven't already been doing this, I highly suggest listening to the song(s) I mention below while reading this chapter (at the bare minimum, the second half of this chapter). It/They (sorry, they're technically the same song but at the same time, they're different) fitperfectly.**

*****This chapter is brought to you by _Theme of Love_ from _Final Fantasy IV_ (specifically the DS version of that song) or, if you prefer a vocalized version, _Tsuki no Akari _(there is a fandub of it on YouTube if you want to listen to it in English, or you can listen to the original Japanese version, also on YouTube)*****

**Sacrifice~The Wilted Black Rose**

Freak.

Witch.

Monster.

_After I developed my powers, I had no one. Everyone I knew—and everyone I _didn't_ know—turned against me. They treated me like a disease on the good days, and like a criminal—like a _murderer_—on the bad ones. I took to the streets… the only place I could go to escape the people who hated me._

_When I found the mask and the black cloak, I thought they were my escape from the world. I could become someone else and escape my pain… by inflicting it on other people. I fell into that role so well that some days I would forget who I really was. Was I Akiza Izinski, the girl afraid of her powers? Or was I the Black Rose Witch, a heartless creature who enjoyed using them to hurt anyone who crossed her path?_

_That was when I found Sayer, or rather, he found me._

_He didn't call me a freak, a witch, or a monster. He showed me that I wasn't the only one with powers to make Duel Monsters come to life. He let me know that I wasn't alone… I wouldn't have to shoulder an unbearable burden by myself anymore. He would think for me, and I… I would have a home._

_After years of instability, to have something stable again… it was everything I wanted. Looking back at it, I suppose that was the real reason I followed Sayer's every beck and call._

_Then I met Yusei, and my world was turned upside-down again._

_He had a mark on his arm like I did. The mark that was my curse—the cause of my powers, the cause of the instability—it angered me to see it on another… but it also made me fear him. If he had the same abilities… if he could hurt me…_

_But the Fortune Cup made it evident—quickly—that he didn't have powers like her._

_The fear dissipated, but the anger didn't. It quickly turned from _what if he has them_ to _why doesn't he?

Why do _I_ have these wretched powers, when he doesn't?

_When we met in battle in the final round of the tournament, I didn't want to listen to him. He wanted to break me out of my shell. He wanted me to _think_…!_

_…But he treated me like an actual person. Like Sayer, he never called me any of those horrid names—except for asking me if I truly wanted to be an emotionless witch—but unlike Sayer… Yusei didn't have any powers._

_No non-Psychic had ever shown me so much kindness before._

_In that moment, I wanted his help more than anything…_

_But it wasn't what Sayer wanted. He wanted me as far away from the Satellite native as possible. He still wanted me to be his puppet… and it didn't take too much convincing to make me allow it._

_Then, when Sayer plummeted to what I thought was his death, I thought everything was over._

_I was wrong. Yusei saved me again. He saved me from my past, and he made me realize I had no reason to hate my parents… that I should forgive them…_

_Sayer might have saved me first, but it was Yusei who I really owed the debt to._

_He was my star. My love. My one true friend._

_And now… he's gone._

_Stars burn out. Love fades. Friends leave._

_Yusei couldn't burn out. My love for him could never fade. And he would never leave a friend behind._

_But he just… he just did the first and last of those… He stayed behind in the Ark Cradle, made us watch in agony as it disappeared in the morning sun, made our marks burn with such ferocity it nearly made me lose consciousness._

_No matter how much I wanted that to be the case, it wasn't. I had to suffer through consciousness like everyone but Sky._

_Yusei… why? Why did you have to go… before I could tell you—_

"Akiza."

The voice that cuts into my thoughts isn't one that belongs to one of my parents; the voices that I've tuned out. Mostly. It belongs to Sky… another person I don't want to talk to. In fact, I'd much rather her be somewhere else. Because… she reminds me too much of Yusei.

I know her enough to know that if I say anything, she won't leave me alone. Besides, it's not like she's going to sit in my room for hours waiting for a response. I'm sure she has better things to do than to press me.

So I keep my back turned to her, staring out the window and watching the clouds roll by.

"Akiza, you can't just shut everything out," she says. "It won't… it won't get rid of the pain. Trust me, I know."

_It's only been two days. Do you really expect me to want to talk to anyone yet? For that matter, two days is not long enough to decide whether or not I'm shutting everything out. Which, I'm not._

I hear her sigh a little. "Fine. Don't talk to me. But… at least… after I leave, read this." She moves something around, and I think she put some paper on my bed. "You might not believe it at first, but… it's definitely really from him."

From _him_…?

Her footsteps get quieter, so it's safe to assume that she's leaving. But they stop altogether a bit too soon for her to be gone, and I hear her say, "There's no rush, by the way. You can take all the time that you need. I know how you feel, and it—"

"You don't know how I feel." The words are out of my mouth before I can even form a conscious thought. They sting with a bitter tone… but they are the truth. And now that my silence is broken, I might as well finish what I started. "You… you didn't love him like I did."

There's a pause, and I can almost feel Sky's anger at my words. "So your saying that because I could only ever care about him as my brother automatically means you loved him more?" She shakes her head. "You're wrong, Akiza. You know about Zero Reverse, about how my parents died in it…"

"Well… of course…" I reply. I'm not sure where she's going with this…

"Before that event, I'd lived a very secluded life. I was… well, I was supposed to be dead," she says. "My parents were the only people I could talk to… and then Yusei, when he was born. Zero Reverse… didn't just take away my family. It took away my entire _world_." She stops, taking a few breaths. I think she's crying, but since I still haven't turned around, I don't know. "Yusei was the only thing I had left, and I had _sworn_ to protect him. Do you really think that his death is harder on you than it is on me?"

I can't respond. I… I don't have an answer to that.

"I thought so." She starts walking away again, after adding, "Read the letter. Whatever's in it is entirely the truth."

With that, she's gone, and I will myself to turn around. Did I really just yell at her for a stupid reason?

…The letter, hmm? A white envelope rests face-down on my sheets, so I pick it up. It doesn't feel that heavy, so there can't be much else other than the letter in it. I flip it over, just to make sure it's addressed to me.

My heart stops when I see it.

My name, written in Yusei's handwriting.

This letter… how…? How could it…?

**XXX**

_Dear Akiza,_

_I wish I could have had time for an actual goodbye. What I'm about to write isn't something someone should be told through a letter, especially after I'm already dead. …No, actually, I don't wish I had time for an actual goodbye. I probably wouldn't have been able to go through with it if I did._

_I suppose you want to know what "it" is, don't you? Stopping the Ark Cradle's descent wasn't limited to defeating Z-ONE. He told us—me and Sky—in his last moments, that a sacrifice was needed to send it back to the future. The negative Ener-D needed to collide with positive… and we, the Signers, were the only ones who could have powered a Duel Disk at that time._

_I'm sure that if you had known, you would have tried to stop me from sacrificing myself. Honestly, there was a part of me—still _is_ a part of me—that wished that could have been the case. That someone else could have been the sacrifice._

_But that could never be the case. That would have meant you, Crow, Jack, Leo, Luna, or Sky… one of you would be the ones gone. I just didn't want to lose anyone. Especially you, Akiza. Especially you._

_When we first met over half a year ago, I could never have imagined myself falling for you. That was when you were pretending to be the Black Rose, and you seemed to hate me. Still, when I saw you in the Fortune Cup, and everyone seemed out for your blood… I knew that it was my job to help you._

_Somewhere along the lines, I found myself caring about you as more than a friend…_

_I was just too blind to admit it._

_…I don't think I have much time left. Akiza, never give up and always smile._

_There's nothing more beautiful in the world than your smile._

_Until we meet again._

_I love you_

_Yusei_

**~The Wilted Black Rose~**

***Sniff* This is… nyeh. I-I'm not crying.**

**Ah, anyways… I'm debating on what I should do for the epilogue. On one hand, I can do snippets of each of their lives afterwards. On the other, I can have it be from Yusei's POV, specifically ten years after his death, and have them visit his grave one at a time. Both ideas seem very appealing… but I can't combine them…**

**Well, please, leave a review!**

**_(Oh, and I'll give a cookie and answer one question for free if you can spot and tell me the Bravely Default quote I added because I could. As a hint, it's before Sky shows up.)_**


	7. 7: Falling Stars

**Well. I'm back to finish this story.**

**And it's going to be a doozy.**

**Because this chapter is from Yusei's POV, exactly ten years after his death.**

**So yeah. This chapter should be interesting, especially since it includes a handful of my headcanons that I'm not even sure I believe half the time but they still exist anyways. Also, if you have a soul, be prepared to cry. I mean that I'm attempting to pour every single last feel I have in my soul into this chapter. Actually, no, that's for another time in another story *coughcoughCrimsonGamescough*. But still. I have a LOT of sadness feels built up inside of me because freaking Ace Attorney and Professor Layton. When those series pull a character death, they succeed in hitting you in the feels. Really hard.**

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds, but I do own my OCs. I'd say enjoy, but… you know…**

*****This chapter is brought to you by _The Day the Wind Blew_ from _Bravely Default_ (there's also an official piano-only version of this song, which I think is better suited for this chapter)*****

**Sacrifice~Falling Stars**

Time doesn't pass for the dead. That was one of the first things I learned after dying in the Arc Cradle. One of the first facts I had to accept. It doesn't pass for us, but it keeps moving for the living.

If I chose to, I could watch my friends grow old and die… without me. I would forever be Yusei Fudo, the hero who died at age nineteen.

Time. If only I could have had more of it on Earth…

I wonder how my friends have been. It hurt so much to leave them—and to write those goodbye letters. Especially the ones to Sky and Akiza… While Sky's wasn't nearly as long as most of the others, it still hurt so much to write it.

Still hurts when I remember the look on her face as I ordered my dragon to carry her to safety.

And Akiza. I don't want to think about her, but I can't help but wonder. How she reacted to her letter, how she's coping… if she's moved on…

I think that's why I didn't watch my friends' lives go on. I only visited once, shortly after I died. Some of them hadn't even gotten their letters yet.

…But just because I didn't see didn't mean I didn't know. Mother and Father… they like to check up on Sky. It was Mother's turn… and she seems a little distraught.

"What is it, Mother?" I ask.

"Hmm?" She looks up at me, startled a little. "Why do you ask?"

"Well… you just visited Sky, didn't you?"

"I… yes, I did," Mother replies, flicking away her bangs that hung in her eyes. "It's just… she seemed so much more depressed than usual… and it's because, well… it's been exactly ten years for them since you died."

Ten years. It seems like it's only been moments. To think that so much time had passed for the living…

That was when I made up my mind to go see them myself.

**XXX**

I don't know where I was expecting to appear. Regardless, I'm hovering next to my grave. Well, it's more of a memorial than anything—I'm not actually buried here, after all. There was no way for them to recover my body.

…

Now that I'm here, who should I visit first? Should I go straight to Sky or Akiza, or go to them last?

"H-Hey, Leo! It's not a race!" a voice, belonging to a young woman, calls out.

"Maybe not for you, but you _know_ I don't have a lot of time off today!" a young man retorts.

It seems I don't have to make the choice. Leo and Luna are both here, visiting my "grave".

They've both grown so much… Both of them are around my height now. Luna's in more casual clothing—a pink, long sleeve shirt and olive-green shorts—while Leo is in some sort of Turbo Dueling uniform… blue, of course.

Leo must have fulfilled his dream of becoming a professional Turbo Duelist, then.

If the dead could cry, I probably would be right now. Seeing the twins, all grown up, makes me realize just how much I left behind. Makes me regret my choice to die. But I can't think that my decision was wrong. If I hadn't, then it would have been Sky who died…

"S-So, um, anyways," Leo says, staring at the ground right in front of my tombstone. "Sorry we haven't been able to visit at all, Yusei. Our parents kinda _made_ us move to London after… you know…"

"And after we could move out on our own, we've just been super busy," Luna picks up. "I'm studying art at an amazing college…"

"Oh man, the life of a pro is a hard one!" Leo shouts. "Today's, like, the first time I've managed to get off other than on Christmas and stuff like that." He checks his phone, and adds, "I bet they'll call me in to practice anytime soon, now." He shrugs. "Still, I'm definitely living my dream. I even have a perfect win record!"

His sister playfully hits his arm, "That isn't true."

"Wha—hey, that was only a draw! It doesn't count against it!"

"You've lost to someone before, though," she retorts with a warm smile.

"That was an exhibition match! It didn't count! Besides," he huffs in annoyance, "that dude used _Bujins_, and you _know_ they're ridiculously unfair."

"Doesn't change the fact that you lost."

Bujins_…? They must be a new archetype…_

"Lunaaaaaa…" Leo says. His phone cuts him off, and with a short exchange with whoever the caller was, he gets a little bit more upset. The caller wants him… wherever… right now. When he'd only just gotten here… The teal-haired man sighs. "Guess we have to cut off the visit short, then."

"Um… just wait one second, okay?" Luna asks. She swings a bag off of her shoulders, and digs through it. Eventually, she pulls out a piece of paper that's a little bit crumpled, and places it right underneath the stone slab. "I… I don't know if you'll be able to see this, Yusei… but I made this for you…"

The drawing isn't colored—only shaded in with pencil—but that doesn't take away from the beauty at all. Sky, with the Crimson Dragon's head in the background behind her, is at the center. On either side of her are Jack and Crow, with _Red Dragon Archfiend_ and _Black-Wing Dragon_ behind them, respectively. Leo is to Crow's left, a hand outstretched to rub _Life Stream Dragon's_ nose. Luna and _Ancient Fairy Dragon_ are next to him. Akiza is on the other side of the drawing, next to Jack, leaning against _Black Rose Dragon_ like a lifeline.

And above all of them is _Stardust Dragon_… with what has to be my ghost hovering next to him.

"It's beautiful…" I say absentmindedly.

"Ah…?!" Luna jumps back a little, surprised.

"Something wrong, Luna?" Leo asks.

"N-No… it's just…" She seems to stare right at me, but there's no way she can see me. Duel Spirits are completely different from spirits of the dead. "I could have sworn I heard…" Luna shakes her head. "It doesn't matter. Don't you have somewhere to be?"

**XXX**

The next of my friends to appear at my grave is Crow. To be honest, I was expecting him to do so. Jack… he's probably as busy as Leo is. Akiza… I just think she'll come later. Sky… now, I _know_ she'll come later—after the sun sets, no doubt.

He doesn't look much different than I remember. The same Criminal Markers, the same gravity-defying orange hair, and the same bright, grey eyes. His grin is a little smaller than normal, but… anyone else probably wouldn't be smiling at all in his shoes.

Visiting a close friend's grave—it doesn't matter if the person is actually buried there—is a painful ordeal.

"Hey Yus'…" he says, trailing off as he plops down on the grass. "Finally managed to squeeze a break into my schedule. Who knew Turbo Dueling could take so _loooooong_?"

I chuckle a little, even if Crow can't hear me. He's as impatient as ever. Not to mention the fact that Leo was in a similar issue.

"Well, anyways, I just… really wanted to come say hi," the orange-haired man says, folding his arms behind his head and lying down. "Y'know… we all miss you. A lot. But those letters you sent… I think they helped."

My letters helped? Good. That's… good.

"I held up my end of the bargain too," he adds. "Well, I guess it wasn't too hard 'cause you told her not to get all depressed 'n stuff, but…" Crow closes his eyes, and a warm smile appears on his face. "Sky's been doing great. Scratch that, _better_ than great. I'd tell you more, but… she should tell you herself."

He sits up with a grunt. "I've gotta go now, Yus'… but it was nice talking to you." As he walks away, he mumbles something like, "Must be seeing things… Coulda sworn I saw him hovering next to me…"

**XXX**

Jack shows up some time later, with Carly in tow. …Or rather, it's the other way around. It doesn't look like he's too happy to be here at all. He doesn't even say anything, and neither does Carly. I think she expects him to talk first.

I know Jack, though. He'd much rather internalize everything, so visiting my grave would probably make it harder.

"Well, Jack?" Carly tugs on his arm a little. "Aren't you going to say something."

"Hmph."

The dark-haired woman rolls her eyes, and crosses her arms. "Jack… that's no way to treat an old friend."

"Yusei isn't an 'old friend'. He's dead."

Blunt as always, I see. I sigh, even though no one will hear it—and I don't need to breathe, anyways. Some things will never change… which makes me wish I was alive even more.

Carly rolls her eyes at him, and her arms fall to her hips. "You should still say _something_. I mean, we came all this way…"

Jack doesn't reply. Well, unless you count walking away a reply.

"J-Jack! Where do you think you're going?!"

"Anywhere but here!" he replies, spinning around. He glares at Carly, but trembles while he does so. It looks like he's on the verge of crying… but he isn't. "I _told_ you I didn't deserve to visit his grave!"

"E-Eh? I thought that was just… a joke or something…" That last part she mumbles under her breath as she fiddles with her hands. "I-I'm sorry, Jack… I didn't realize…"

He turns back around, hands clenched, still shaking. "It's fine… It isn't your fault. It's mine."

_It's… your fault Jack? What is it that's your fault?_ I think. _What is it that make you think you aren't worthy to visit my grave?_

…It couldn't be…

I… I remember… the one time I visited my friends. Jack, in that old theatre… screaming at the sky…

Has he… still not cried…?

That's not… that isn't his fault. There are other ways of grieving. "Jack… it's okay. You shouldn't blame yourself," I say, as though he can hear me. I know Luna did, and Crow definitely saw me. Maybe there's something…?

Jack's head jerks up in alarm. He heard me. "Yu…sei…" He reaches up, and wipes at his eyes.

His hand. It's wet when he lowers his arm, and turns back to Carly. I think… I think he's finally…

"Thanks for dragging me here Carly," Jack says, his eyes hidden in shadows because his head is tilted down. "I needed this…"

"You're… welcome, I guess," Carly says. She goes quiet, and looks at my grave. "I'm just glad…" Another pause, and she seems to go right back to her cheerful self. "Anyways! You better get going before you're late to your match against Leo!"

"Hmph. The King is never late."

And just like that, the two of them leave.

It isn't until after they're long gone that I realize they were wearing matching wedding rings.

**XXX**

The sun sets before Akiza shows up.

Akiza. I… If I was still alive, I would probably be holding my breath while my heart pounded like it wanted out of my chest. But I'm not, so all I can do is stare longingly at her, wondering what she's going to say.

These past ten years have changed her. She doesn't have her bangs curled around her stabilizer anymore—the metal piece was nowhere to be seen. That must have taken a great deal of effort to get rid of… Although, it means she's in complete control of her powers now, so…

She kneels down, careful to not crush her labcoat underneath her. She had wanted to become a doctor, hadn't she…? For a few moments, she remains silent, one hand on my tombstone. "Yusei… It's been awhile…" she manages to say without choking up. "Ten years… It feels like it's been longer than that."

I know how she feels, although for a completely different reason.

"Ten years since I heard your voice… saw your face… h-held your hand…" She clenches the grass and tries to steady her breathing. "Nnn… I-I can't cry… I promised myself I wouldn't…" Akiza whispers. "I… I always have to smile…"

I can't help it. I gasp, even though I shouldn't. _Never give up and always smile._ My last words to her in that letter…

"Ah?!" Akiza looks up, and stares right at me. Her eyes widen in disbelief. "Yu… Yusei?!"

My mouth hangs open for… I'm not sure how long… before I reply, "Akiza… you can hear me? You… you can see me…?"

Her jaw wavers until she closes her mouth, her eyes welling up with tears. She nods, slowly standing up. "I can… I can hear you… and I can see you, too…" She reaches out, like she wants to touch me. As if by instinct, I try to grab her outstretched hand. It doesn't work, of course, and our hands go through the other.

I should have known better than to expect something more from whatever power is letting Akiza talk to me. I've grown… so used to only talking to my parents… Akiza… "You can… I…" I look away, my eyes half closed. "I'm so sorry I've caused you so much pain."

Akiza shakes her head, causing some of her tears to fall away and glisten in the moonlight. "Don't think like that! You… you haven't caused me any pain!"

"…You're lying, Akiza."

She stops and bites her lip. The hurt is clearly written on her face. "I… I don't… F-Fine, you _did_ cause me pain." Akiza pauses, and tries to grab me again. My hand tingles like it did when it passed through her a few moments ago. I stare at it, and then back at Akiza. "But that was before I knew why you did it!" she adds, once her eyes lock with mine.

That's right. Sky was unconscious for two days, and was the only living soul who knew why. I had to tell the others in my letters… That means… for two days, Akiza thought I had just thrown my life away. "That doesn't change anything. I still caused you pain no one should have to go through."

We stand there in silence as the crickets chirp nearby. A breeze ruffles the nearby trees, although I can't exactly feel it.

…

"…Not a day goes by where I don't think about you," Akiza says, almost a whisper. "Your letter… You told me to never give up… and… and always smile…" Her tears are falling faster now, and she sinks back to the ground. I wish I could hold her; comfort her and keep her from shaking so hard. "That was… the only thing that kept me going. The thought that you wanted me to keep going… It always gave me hope… even though I'd lost you…"

My words kept her alive… I gave her… hope… I close my eyes. "I'm glad."

Another silence, again broken by Akiza. "Did… did you mean it?"

"Huh?" What is she going on about…?

"In your letter, you said…" she stops mid-sentence, crying again. "Y-You… said that… you… l-loved me…"

"I remember."

…

"I meant it, Akiza. I loved you then… and I still do." Even though I've been dead for ten years, I still love her. "I'll love you until the end of time… and beyond." I pause. "But… you can't…" She can't love me back. Not the way I would want her to.

"I don't care, Yusei," she says. "I will _always_ love you, even if we can't spend our lives together on Earth." She looks away after she says that.

"Akiza… Listen to me." I pause, waiting to be sure that I have her attention. "Just because I'm gone doesn't mean your life has to end." The same words I wrote to Sky… "You shouldn't… close off from anyone because of this." … "You should… move on."

"B-But I…"

Someone clears their throat nearby, catching our attention. It's Sky. "I'm… interrupting something, aren't I?" she asks, her eyes not leaving me for a second.

"No, it's… it's alright," Akiza replies. "I was just… about to leave anyways. Don't want to be late… for the night shift, after all…" She looks at me one last time, and this time she smiles.

_There's nothing… more beautiful… in the world…_

I smile back, even if I want to cry. Even if I want to hold her in my arms. Even if I want to say something more… but I can't. My voice just won't work.

"I have to go now, Yusei…" Akiza says. "Thank you… for everything… Good… Goodbye."

She walks away without turning back. Understandable, since if she did, she… she probably wouldn't have left. It… still hurt. I wish she could stay… but I know she can't. She still has her whole life in front of her…

"I'm so sorry, Yusei…" Sky says, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"You didn't do anything," I reply. "There's… no need to be sorry." _I'm just happy you're here—that I can see you and hear your voice. I missed you just as much—no, _more_ than—I missed Akiza, if that should even be possible._

Sky shakes her head. "There… there _is_… I _did_ do something…" She looks down. "I shouldn't have… I shouldn't have faked my death nearly fifteen years ago… Maybe none of this would have happened…" I see a few tears fall from her face as she adds, "I tried, Yusei. I tried so hard not to blame myself but I just couldn't—hngh…!" Her face scrunches up in pain as she puts a hand over her stomach and sits down carefully. She leans against my tombstone, eyes shut as she tries to slow her breathing.

"Sky! What's wrong?!"

Continuing to keep her eyes squeezed shut, she rubs the side of her face—like she's trying to wake herself up or something. "I… nnn… I'm fine. It just… all came rushing back at once."

I narrow my eyes at her. The fact that she isn't crying—just seems like she's in a lot of pain—tells me otherwise. "Sky, don't you _dare_ lie to me. What's wrong?"

"I'm not lying! It _did_ all come back at once!" Her eyes snap open, fresh tears in them. "I just… If this is what was going to happen… I shouldn't have come. It isn't good for my or…" she stops suddenly, stares at her stomach, and finishes, "it isn't good for my health."

Okay, now she's just trying to keep the truth from me. "Seriously, Sky?"

She refuses to meet my eyes for a moment, instead picking at the grass. When she looks up at me, she says, "I just… didn't want to talk about it. B-Because your here, and I don't know how long I'll be able to talk to you, and I want to talk about you and I not my baby—"

"That's it? You're… pregnant?"

"Yeah…" Sky messes with the ring on her left hand. "I just… please, Yusei, I really want to talk about you…"

My… big sister's going to have a baby… I stare at the ground. I would be an uncle… if I hadn't… "Can… Can you just tell me who the father is…?"

"Should be obvious. He… told me that you knew already…"

"That he had a crush on you? Yeah, I knew about that." A small smile appears on my face. "He's been treating you right, hasn't he?"

"Mhmm…" she nods slowly. "Crow and Jack made sure that he did…" She pauses, and her shoulders sag again, head down. "They… they… it shouldn't…" A sob racks her body. "It shouldn't have to be them making sure Shoshan treats me right! I-It should be you a-and Father!" … "It's always… the people that I care about who die… Is Shoshan…? Is it my unborn child…?"

I may not actually be able to hit her, but I slap her across the face. My hand passes through, with the tingly after effects. It has the same effect I wanted—Sky looks at me, stunned, her mouth wide open in an 'O'. "This isn't you," I offer, as an explanation for my action. "This isn't the Sky I remember."

"I've changed, Yusei," she says coldly. "I had to. I had to be strong for everyone. I couldn't hole up in my room and just _cry_. I couldn't tell anyone about my worries and what-ifs—I had to keep it all inside. But… in the end… I just…" She wipes the tears out of her eyes, and looks up at me. "In the end I just really miss my little brother."

"I miss you too. All… all the time," I say. _I never imagined how hard it was for you, though…_ "Even so… I have to go soon."

"Wh-What?" Alarm pops onto her face.

"I can't just stay here forever…" _No matter how much I want to._ "I have to go back… to where I belong."

Sky doesn't respond for a moment, running a hand through her golden hair. I almost gasp when I notice the back of her right hand—how did I not notice it before? The Mark of the Crimson Dragon she has there… it's faint, but it's definitely glowing. As I watch it, the glow gets stronger… and stronger… until she throws her arms around me.

And she doesn't pass through me.

The shock… is enough to bring tears to my eyes. It shouldn't be possible—then again, most of this shouldn't be possible. I can feel her warmth under my skin… I can feel her heart beat…

"I love you, Yusei," Sky murmurs into my shoulder.

"Love you too, Sky. Never forget that."

And with that, I disappear from the graveyard…

…

_In memory of Yusei Fudo, who gave his life to save millions. Who gave strength and hope to those who didn't have it. He will be greatly missed._

**~Falling Stars~**

***Sobs quietly in the corner***

**R-Review… please… I just… I can't. That last scene… murdered my… s-soul…**

**It doesn't help that I'm… going to see… Mockingjay Part 1… later…**

***Fully breaks down into tears***


End file.
